


what less than doomsday

by chainreaction



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 06:55:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19312936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chainreaction/pseuds/chainreaction
Summary: Mark feels the weight of the world drop into his hands, but he never asked to be anyone's king.





	what less than doomsday

The ceiling of Mark’s room is covered in an elaborate mural, one that his mother had commissioned by a local artist. It’s an intricate scene of angels with harps, all soft skin and clouds beneath their feet. They all have their eyes closed and smiles on their faces, resting in the bliss of purity.

When Mark gazes up at the mural through the sheer canopy over his bed frame, the angels distort into vague shapes of tan and gold. He can feel their smiles still, and he wishes quietly to live up there in the clouds.

There’s a knock on the door, soft enough that Mark’s brain takes a moment to register it. He smiles to himself, waiting for the visitor to knock again before he pads to the door.

Jaehyun’s back is already turned away from the door, ready to walk away down the hall when Mark opens the door. He stops as the hinges creak and turns to see Mark, head rested against the door frame, eyes sleepy but smiling.

“I thought you might’ve gone to sleep already,” Jaehyun says, stepping towards the door until Mark backs in to give him room to enter. “You look tired.”

“I feel tired,” Mark says, walking to the bed and sitting right on the edge. The heels of his feet bump against the blanket that hangs down to the floor, pushing it back so that his feet have a spot to dangle. “I don’t remember the last time I had a weekend. I didn’t know you lose weekends when you grow up.”

“A shame,” Jaehyun says, but he smiles. He sits down in the chair on the other side of Mark’s nightstand, the one that remembers the shape of his body from how many times he’s sat just the same. Mark’s hand reaches out for his, and Jaehyun offers his back, stretching his arm out to bridge the space between them.

“You had an alright day?” Mark asks, swinging their arms between them. His grip on Jaehyun’s hands tighten with the swings, not wanting to lose him from between his fingers. Jaehyun nods back, half-smile on his face that hasn’t quite faded from before.

There’s a moment of quiet in the conversation, arms swinging slowly from side to side powered by the momentum of the last swing before. Mark is watching them swing like the pendulum in the body of a big grandfather clock. Each swing passes with a new second and there’s a gentle ticking in Mark’s brain over and over again until Jaehyun tugs gently on his hand.

“C’mere,” he says, pulling Mark forward until his feet land on the floor. Mark walks over, being pulled continuously until his knees meet Jaehyun’s and he can’t walk any further. Jaehyun crinkles his nose, tilting his head up to look at Mark, and he knows Mark can take a hint.

Mark sighs, hand instinctively reaching out to hold Jaehyun’s head just beneath his ear. He leans down, pressing their lips together, and feels the air escape from his lungs as his body makes more room to take in as much of Jaehyun’s presence as possible. Jaehyun’s hand is still holding tight to his, still trying to pull him closer until he realizes that he can’t anymore, and his hands settle on Mark’s hips instead.

Mark’s knee lifts up to rest on Jaehyun’s thigh, practically crawling onto him in a silent attempt to get Jaehyun to pull him all the way onto his lap. It only takes a few more seconds of kissing and a small groan from Mark’s throat before he gets his wish, one leg on either side of Jaehyun’s lap and one hand on either side of Jaehyun’s face, not wanting to risk a moment of being separated. Jaehyun hums at him, trying to convince him to let them part, and Mark takes in one last long moment of how it feels to kiss him before letting go and dropping his hands down to lock his fingers together around the back of Jaehyun’s neck. He looks up, eyes searching up and down Jaehyun’s face to try and figure out why he had to stop, but Jaehyun just looks back fondly.

“Sorry,” Jaehyun says, “I’ve been talking about you all day and it made me miss you a lot.” 

“Yeah? What’d you talk about?” Mark says, relaxing his legs so that he sits on Jaehyun’s thighs.

“Oh, you know,” Jaehyun says while putting on his best professional voice, “‘the Prince is ready to rule the kingdom. Not only is he completely matured and prepared to take the throne, but he’s also very cute.”

Mark’s face drops a bit, letting his arms go slack on Jaehyun’s shoulders. He sighs, and Jaehyun begins to panic at the way his emotions shifted so quickly, so he moves to wrap his arms around Mark’s torso.

“Can we,” Mark starts, then breathes in and starts again. “Can we not talk about the throne? Just for a while? I know it’s your whole job right now but it’s also  _ my  _ whole life and I just want to… I don’t know.”

“Hey, no, I’m sorry,” Jaehyun says, letting his hand run up and down Mark’s back to soothe him. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

Mark laughs a bit to himself and Jaehyun looks up at him, confused. Mark shakes his head back, looking down at their laps between us.

“Now I’m thinking about it, I’m not gonna be able to  _ not _ talk about it.”

“That’s okay,” Jaehyun whispers, suddenly afraid to be heard once the conversation to get serious. “Whatever you want.”

“I know it’s gonna happen soon, I’m not stupid.” Mark backs up off of Jaehyun, standing up to hover uncomfortably a few feet away. “But it’s like, I can  _ see _ him about to die. They wouldn’t be talking about this if he wasn’t about to die. It’s just scary.”

“I’m sorry, Mark,” he says, standing up to approach him in the center of the room. “I know it’s hard, but we have to be ready for losing His Majesty. It’s not a simple process for a country to lose a king.”

“Well, he’s my father! Isn’t that a bit more important?” There’s a moment of silence, then Mark steps closer. He puts his head against Jaehyun’s chest who quickly moves his arms to wrap around him. Mark opens his mouth again, breath warm against Jaehyun’s chest.

“Maybe it’s not as important, but I just want to treat it like it is for a while.” He can tell Jaehyun nods as he starts to rock the two of them back and forth, swinging and swinging again like before; this time they become the pendulum themselves, counting the seconds. 

They freeze for a moment as they hear thumps from footsteps down the hallway. It’s too late now for it to be anyone from the staff, Jaehyun isn’t even truly supposed to be on this side of the building, and Mark is sure it’s his younger brother pacing the floor so late at night. He takes Jaehyun’s hands in his and slowly unwraps himself from the hug, giving him a half-smile apology as he steps back and then goes jogging quietly out of the room.

“Sung?” Mark whispers into the end of the hallway, and the footsteps stop. “I know it’s you, come back here.”

Jisung scutters back into the light coming through the crack in Mark’s door, hands folded behind his back like he knows that he’s in trouble.

“What’s up? What’re you doing out here?” Mark says, and he watches Jisung relax as he realizes he’s not about to be yelled at. “It’s late, you should be asleep.”

“I think I…” Jisung starts, looking past Mark’s shoulder down the hallway, causing Mark to turn around and see nothing. “I think I heard people talking in Father’s room. I got worried so I just wanted to get up and get away for a little bit.”

“That’s alright,” Mark says, putting his arm around Jisung’s shoulder and bringing him into half of a hug. “I know it’s hard. Things are gonna be alright come morning, trust me.” He almost believes himself for a moment, ignoring how strange it is to hear people awake around the palace this late at night. 

“Why are you up?” Jisung asks, but Mark just ruffles his hair to deflect the question.

“Go to bed, alright?” Mark says, already turning Jisung slightly back towards his room. “We’ll talk at breakfast.”

Jisung mumbles a wish of a good night before he trudges down the hallway, nearly asleep on his feet as he heads back to his room. 

When Mark walks back into the room, Jaehyun is sitting on the bed, fighting to keep his eyes open in the soft light from a single lamp.

“You can go to bed if you want,” Mark says, “I’ll still be here in the morning.”

Jaehyun reaches his arms out and Mark instinctually moves between them, holding Jaehyun’s head against his chest. Jaehyun hums, thinking for a moment, but he only holds Mark tighter.

“I don’t want to leave yet,” Jaehyun sighs, leaning back to try and get Mark to sit with him. “I’d just sleep here with you if I could.”

“We could sleep for a while and wake up really early,” Mark says, sitting and immediately laying down sideways on the bed. “Or we could sleep as long as we want and then get caught. And you’d get fired. Maybe  _ I’d _ get fired. I wish I could get fired.”

“I’ll take the first option,” Jaehyun says, scooting his way up to the headboard of the bed. Mark follows him, laying on Jaehyun’s arm and curling into his side. Jaehyun promises himself that he’ll wake up early, early enough to slip back to the other side of the manor before anyone comes to wake his Prince. 

Jaehyun’s free hand rubs aimless patterns up and down Mark’s back, gently pushing him closer all the while. Mark turns his head up to look at Jaehyun, sticking out his lips just a bit to try and get a kiss without asking out loud. He gets one, soft and fleeting and far too short for his own liking, so he continues to hold his pout until Jaehyun kisses him longer, pressing their hearts closer together and finding it harder to let go as the seconds pass.

“I don’t wanna sleep,” Mark mumbles against the side of Jaehyun’s mouth and the other softly laughs. “We could just do this all night and I would be much happier than if I was sleeping.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Jaehyun says, pecking Mark’s lips again one more time before hugging him tight with both arms. “If you don’t get some more rest soon I’m afraid you might die. That would suck for me.”

“Yeah,” Mark says, eyes already closing and face burrowing into Jaehyun’s neck, “that would totally suck for you.”

Jaehyun smiles as they fall into silence, letting Mark coast into sleep and trying his best to follow.

 

_ He used to dream of what Illyria would be like when he finally got to rule. He’d picture himself high atop a hill in the West of the kingdom, watching the sun rise over the world that was his to keep safe. His mother and father were there, his brother was by his side, and he was King. As it should be.  _

_ He got the chance to wear his coronet for the first time at age 12. It was just a bit too big for his head then, the same headpiece that his father had worn into his twenties. But he held still as it was placed on his head for the first time, sniffling back tears before standing dutifully behind his father in a funeral procession with his younger brother wiping his eyes with the back of his hands and trailing just behind them. At age 12, his mother disappeared from his dreams of Illyrian rule. At age 12, he realized that his mother would never live to see him crowned. Not long after, he began to understand that his father would have to die before he could stand on that hill and call the land his own. _

_ He remembers holding Jisung’s hand tight, fighting every single one of his senses to stay calm as he saw his mother for the very last time. The dreams of Illyria still had Jisung in them, no matter what. Jisung would always be there to help him rule. Illyria could trust in the brothers of the royal family to carry on the legacy of their father, and his father, and a hundred fathers before that.  _

_ Now, Mark is dreaming of ruling Illyria, but it’s hardly the future. It’s him now, taking the coronet off of his head, placing it on Jisung’s. It’s placing his father’s crown, the one passed down from generation to generation, onto his head, standing on that high hill.  _

_ But Jaehyun is there, right at his side. Jaehyun is there with a simple crown adorning his head, not unlike the one Mark’s mother once wore. They are there, hand in hand, for Illyria to see. But he hears the sounds of cannons in the distance, he knows that all is not well. He hears them, just seconds apart. Bang. Another, and another. Bang. Bang.  _

 

Mark hears the dull thump of knuckles against the outside of his door first. His eyes shoot open, registering the faintest bit of sunlight through the window, then registering the warm weight of Jaehyun wrapped around his torso. It’s pleasant for a moment, but then the knocking sounds again and the panic of someone finding the two of them in this position is more pressing than the feeling of comfort as he wakes up. 

His first instinct is to nudge Jaehyun slightly, who stirs but doesn’t quite open his eyes. He tries to squirm out of the boy’s grip, and successfully detaches himself after a moment, but Jaehyun still lies there without any signs of waking. 

“Sorry about this,” Mark mumbles, and very gently nudges Jaehyun towards the edge of the bed, finally rolling him off with a loud thump and a startled noise of Jaehyun waking up as he hits the ground.

“Your Highness?” A voice calls from outside the door, “Is everything alright?” There’s a high strung worry in the voice of the attendant and Mark panics that she may come in to check on him.

“Yes,” Mark yells back, already moving down to the ground to silently apologize to Jaehyun, cradling his elbow where it hit the ground first. “I’ll be out in just a minute, thank you.”

He stops, silent as he waits for the sound of faint footsteps going to wake up his brother. Jaehyun eyes are scrunched tight to fight the pain of falling and the reality of waking up. 

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Mark says, sitting next to Jaehyun on the floor and wrapping his arms around him. “Thought she was going to come in, I got scared.”

“It’s okay,” Jaehyun half-grumbles, trying to wake himself up. “Why’re we up so early?”

“I don’t know,” Mark says, standing up and reaching out a hand for Jaehyun to help pull him up. “I’m gonna get ready and go out there, you wanna give it like 20 minutes to make sure no one is here and then meet me for breakfast?”

“Sure,” Jaehyun says, leaning forward to kiss Mark shortly before stepping back. “I’ve never slept that well in my life.”

“Me either,” Mark says, “but somehow I’m still tired. It’s too early.”

Mark makes Jaehyun look away while he changes into new clothes for the day, going as fast as he can because he knows that Jaehyun is probably sneaking glances behind his back anyway.

“I’ll see you later,” Mark says, hovering by the door.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jaehyun says, popping up from where he sits on the bed and walking over to meet Mark before he leaves. “Last time I get to kiss you for the day. Let me get a good one in.” 

Mark chuckles lightly, reaching his arms out to hold Jaehyun and kissing him long enough to make his head spin.

“Thanks,” Jaehyun says against his lips, rubbing Mark’s sides for a moment before letting him slip out the door.

 

When Mark walks into the dining room, he can feel something off. Jisung is pushing a piece of fruit around his plate in circles, watching the trail of juice it leaves as he drags it in a figure eight. He sits down next to Jisung, looking at his plate of food and finding that his stomach flips at the idea of eating.

The boy’s nanny, looking mostly after Jisung these days, comes into the room and clears her throat. Jisung looks up at her, and Mark follows after a moment when he realizes that she’s addressing the both of them.

“Boys,” she says, “I’m sorry.”

Mark’s heart drops out of his body onto the floor before she says anything else.

“Late last night, we… your father passed away.”

Jisung stands next to Mark, pushing his chair out from behind him. He stops for a moment, not sure where he was planning to go in the first place, before rushing off down the hall to his room. She follows after him, gently calling his name until Mark hears the door slam shut.

Mark can’t bring himself to move. His chest feels heavy, suddenly stacked with the weight of a hundred bricks as he remembers the night before, remembers telling Jisung that everything would be alright. In his mind, he hears the roar of a battlefield with men shot down one by one. He can't see it but he knows what it must look like; he can picture his countrymen dying just as easily as ever. He can see his father atop that same hill for the last time.

He hears someone enter the room but doesn’t look up, staring down at his hands where they sit flat on the table. He traces the outline of his fingers, looking at the small imperfections in his skin until the image starts to blur with tears. Someone sits next to him in Jisung’s chair, puts their hand on his as he squeezes his eyes shut to try and stop the tears from falling out. 

Jaehyun says something next to him, a murmur of a voice that he can’t seem to focus on. Mark just nods, letting Jaehyun hold his hand, feeling his head grow heavy with the impending weight of the crown. 

**Author's Note:**

> yee yee i'm back and i got a whole new pseud (rip hyucklees u were good to me while you lasted). a couple things! first: thank u to everyone who helped me gestate this concept (its been about 6 months at this point, woof) and thank u to everyone who will stick around to see how it progresses from here. second: the title is from romeo and juliet III.iii where romeo says "What less than doomsday is the Prince's doom?" and i remembered it and thought it was perfect so there she is. big love as always i hope yall enjoy ^-^
> 
> twt: hesmarklee  
> cc: nctdad


End file.
